Only Us
by CrystalKrone
Summary: Sometimes they're with others, sometimes they're by themselves, and sometimes they're apart. One thing is for certain; they're always in each other's hearts. A collection of Ingway/Mercedes fluff and angst short stories in an Armageddon-less AU.
1. Held

**A/N** : So begins a planned series of Ingway/Mercedes short stories, mostly because we all need some therapeutic fluff for this pairing since they got such a bad ending in the canon. (And because that, as of 12-21-2015, Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir's American release has been delayed to June 7th if Amazon is anything to go by. I'm still sobbing to be quite honest.)

Updates are planned to mostly be sporadic as ideas come to me, although I'll try to post at least once a week.

 **Held**

The more he thought about it, the more he realized just how small of a thing she was.

No, wait. She wasn't a thing. She was a soul, and a beautiful one at that. In fact, he would call her the most beautiful soul he had ever put his eyes upon.

It was a bit funny, but he was absolutely worried he might snap her in half as he drew her close to him, right arm moving to hold her by the small of her back. She must have been surprised, for she let out a tiny, tiny squeak as his other hand took her free one and entwined their fingers together. Such round eyes, shimmering like rubies…

She placed her left hand on his shoulder, shyly moving closer until she was leaning against him on her toes. Cheeks dusted with pink, threads of gold making up her hair, and white flowers making up a crown just a tad too big for her head. Everything was simply delicate and soft.

To her, he must've been toned and rugged, owed to years of living in a forest much less…proper than hers. He twitched, feeling her move her hand down to his chest and over his strongly beating heart. What did she see when she looked at him? Did he appear as a Prince who stood handsome and proud before her or a sorry man who did more bad than good?

A sharp breath left him when she cupped his cheek and brushed her fingers against his messy locks. Soft to the touch, she strained herself just to reach just a bit higher and lightly press her lips to his. His eyes closed and he sighed, lips curving just slightly at the sensation of her eyelashes brushing against his cheek.

They held close to each other, fear still in his chest of breaking her, but not as prominent. The grip of their laced fingers tightened and for a moment, there was no reason for him to breathe as he gave her a grateful kiss back, lifting her until her toes no longer touched the ground.

A tiny whisper left her and he smiled, giving her his reply with full honesty.

"And I just as dearly, love."


	2. Rain

**A/N** : I feel incredibly bad that, for what's supposed to be a series of short drabbles, it took me over a month to finally give it its second update. I guess I just consider myself lucky that Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir was revealed to have that new end card because it's been making me absolutely crave new Ingway/Mercedes material. So, here we are! I promise that the next update after this will come sooner! Now, let's continue!

* * *

 **Rain**

* * *

It wasn't uncommon for there to be storms in Ringford. This sudden shower wasn't a particularly bad one, although it did give everything in the forest a rather good soak.

The log that Mercedes and Ingway were hiding in until the rain let up enough so that they could walk back to the palace was just a tad too small. Ingway blamed it on Mercedes' wings. Mercedes blamed it on Ingway's oversized cloak. Either way, the two were pressed terribly close together inside the hollowed trunk as to not accidentally lean out and get a parts of their body wet.

Mercedes awkwardly shifted a bit, flinching when she felt a few raindrops hit her wing. She shuffled again, this time earning a grunt from Ingway.

"Mercedes," he said. "Your foot…"

The fairy bit her lower lip and looked away. "Well, excuse me for not thinking of a better position to put ourselves in."

The Prince narrowed his eyes. This time it was Ingway's turn to move and Mercedes yelped when he suddenly put his hands upon her waist. He dragged her over him until she was straddled across his lap with his legs pressing against her back and wings. "There," he said in a gruff tone as he folded his hands across his stomach. "This works fine."

Mercedes' stare was hard as her hands flew to her chest and her cheeks turned beet red. What was he thinking? This wasn't okay, this was…okay…Even though, with the way their backs bent, they were even closer like this. It was enough that their foreheads were touching and Mercedes could feel Ingway's warm breaths on her neck.

The raindrops outside the log continued to patter against the wood. It didn't seem like it would be letting up anytime soon. Wordlessly, Mercedes leaned forward and rested her head upon Ingway's shoulder. She might as well make herself comfortable if she could. Ingway went ahead and kindly wrapped some of his cloak around her.

Now that she thought about it, the way they were felt rather warm. Or maybe she was still flushing? Heaven knows, really. She snuggled against her Prince and closed her eyes, breathing in and exhaling gently.

The rain continued for another hour. By the time it let up, Mercedes had fallen asleep. Ingway could only chuckle as he carried her back to the castle.


End file.
